From Refugee Teenager to Dearborn's Top Cop: Corporal Mohamad Farhat Named 2025 Officer of the Year

The Dearborn Police Department has named Corporal Mohamad Farhat its 2025 Officer of the Year, capping a nearly decade-long career built on a promise Farhat made to himself as a teenager who arrived in the United States unable to speak English: to give something back to the city that took him in. Farhat, who serves in the department's Neighborhood Police Unit, was recognized by Dearborn Police for what the department described as "exceptional professionalism, proactive performance, leadership and commitment to public safety." In its announcement, the department said Farhat routinely goes beyond his regular duties -- fielding residents' concerns, backing up patrol officers, responding to calls, enforcing traffic laws, making arrests and stepping in proactively when problems arise. Officials said his dedication to colleagues and to putting the community first "embodies the highest values and principles of the Dearborn Police Department." The honor is notable not just for the recognition itself, but for the path that led to it. Farhat came to the United States in 2001 at age 15, carrying with him memories of a childhood in southern Lebanon shaped by years of war and instability under Israeli occupation. Landing in Dearborn as a non-English speaker, he leaned on teachers in the city's schools to adapt to an unfamiliar country and language; it took him roughly two years before he felt comfortable speaking English. To support himself, Farhat took a job at Greenland Super Market -- also known as Al-Mustafa Market -- in Dearborn shortly after arriving. He stayed there through his college years, working at the market until shortly before he joined the Dearborn Police Department in 2016. That bilingual, bicultural background has become an asset on the job. Farhat has said that speaking to residents in their own language does more than smooth over a routine interaction -- it helps build the kind of trust that community policing depends on, particularly in a city with one of the largest concentrations of Arab Americans and Arabic speakers in the country. "Being a police officer is an honorable profession," Farhat said, encouraging others who want to protect their communities and contribute to positive change to consider a path through law enforcement. Farhat credited his family for carrying him through the demands of the job, thanking his wife and two daughters, as well as his colleagues on the force, for their support in balancing his career with family life. Speaking about the Officer of the Year honor, he said its significance extends well past the award itself. "I am honored and humbled to receive this award," he said, adding that it motivates him to keep serving and to keep striving to do more. He also thanked the Dearborn Police Department and Chief Issa Shahin for the recognition. The announcement, shared by the Dearborn Police Department along with its own account of Farhat's record, was later detailed in an in-depth profile by The Arab American News, which interviewed Farhat about his journey from newly arrived immigrant to decorated officer. Nearly 25 years after arriving in the U.S. as a teenager who couldn't order a meal in English, Farhat now polices the same streets where he grew up -- a full-circle story in a city that has increasingly seen its police force, courts and civic institutions come to reflect the community it serves.